By US Racing Staff
Another A-list celebrity-named racehorse came through at Ascot Racecourse on Friday, with Shaquille shooting into the lead 110 yards from the finish and posting a comfortable victory in the Commonwealth Cup (G1).
Day 4 at the Royal Meet in Berkshire, England, was truer to form than the first three days, when longshots dominated and gave their supporters huge paydays.
So, if you played a hunch bet on a 1-2 finish of 22-1 shot Jimi Hendrix and 25-1 shot Sonny Liston in Wednesday’s Royal Hunt Cup, maybe you came up with 9-1 Shaquille (of NBA star Shaquille O’Neal fame).
Despite rearing at the start and losing ground in the field of 13-year-olds, Shaqille started rolling under jockey Olsin Murphy, picking up ground and moving closer to the leaders with a furlong to go. At that point, Murphy urged on the filly, and she went on to beat 10-11 favorite Little Big Bear by 1 ¾ lengths.
“The race was almost over at the start. I had to take a deep breath and hope they had gone too fast up front and would slow down at the end,’’ Murphy said. “It was a top, top-class performance from the horse. I am thrilled. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
The win was the first at Royal Ascot for trainer Julie Camacho.
“It’s a massive day for everyone at the stable, and for his owners,’’ Camacho said. “I never thought I’d be celebrating a group 1 winner at Royal Ascot.“
Shifting from first wins to multiple wins, Frankie Dettori chalked up two ore wins at Royal Ascot, Nos. 80 and 81 – the 80th aboard Porta Fortuna (5-1) for American owners in the Albany Stakes (G3) for 2-year-old fillies and the 81st aboard Coppice in the Sandringham Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.
Also, Okita Soushi won the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes for trainer Joseph Patrick O’Brien; 8-13 favorite Tahiyra won the Coronation Stakes (G1) for trainer Dermot Weld, and 11-10 favorite King of Steel took the King Edward VII Stakes (G2) for trainer Roger Varian.
After his first flying dismount of the day, Dettori, retiring at the end of the year, said: “Eighty winners at Royal Ascot, unbelievable. I’ve fulfilled my dream. Ascot has always been special to me, I love it so much, and to reach 80 winners is incredible.
Port Fortuna is trained by Donnacha Aidan O’Brien (son of Aidan), who won his first race at Royal Ascot. The filly is owned by Medallion Racing (operated by Taylor Made Farm), Barry Fowler, Steve Weston, and Dean Reeves’ Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.
This is “a lifetime win that might never happen again,’’ Dean Reeves told FanDuel TV. “What a filly and a great ride by Frankie Dettori, it all came together.”